For the first time since the 2008 war, the transit of goods from Georgia to Russia and back through South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which Georgians consider “occupied” and which the Russian Federation recognizes as independent states, can resume in the Caucasus.
The Kommersant newspaper writes about this today, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Transit issues should be finally resolved on February 6 at the first meeting of the joint committee of Russia and Georgia since 2011.
Moscow and Tbilisi signed an agreement back in 2011; it took seven years to settle all the formalities; now an agreement has been concluded with the Swiss company Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), which will monitor the flow of cargo in the region and label it.
“It is assumed that the so-called Abkhaz corridor will be served by terminals located in Adler and south of the Inguri River, the South Ossetian one - in Alagir and in the vicinity of Gori, and the Russian-Georgian corridor - in Vladikavkaz and in the Kazbegi region (Georgian Military Road),” - the article says.
“These plans can be implemented only on the condition that the Georgian side agrees to transport goods through Abkhazia and South Ossetia and clear them,” the publication notes.